Sigur Ros round off 10th Sacrum Profanum Festival

photo: Sacrum Profanum/Wojciech Wandzel

The band took command of Nowa Huta's communist-era steelworks - one of the favoured venues of the festival – for the double-barrelled finale.

Before the Icelandic group hit the stage, legendary New York outfit the Kronos Quartet, who have an enduring relationship with contemporary Polish composers, opened the evening.

Kronos Quartet may be partial to Penderecki and Gorecki, but for Saturday's half-hour performance, the American combo focused their attentions on novel arrangements of Sigur Ros tracks.

Fans of the Icelandic stars were then treated to a two-hour excursion courtesy of the Reykjavik band.

The group sailed through pieces from their most recent three albums, Takk (2005), Meo suo í eyrum vio spilum endalaust (2008) and Valtari (2012), with a few older hits thrown in for good measure.

Besides flashes of Icelandic inspiration, the jubilee edition of Sacrum Profanum largely concentrated on Polish contemporary music, welcoming young composers such as Pawel Mykietyn, Aleksander Nowak and Marcin Stanczyk.

This followed last year's foray into American minimalism, and 2010's focus on Nordic nations. (nh)